Greens Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young is calling on all South Australian MPs to add their names to a Bill to ban drilling in the Great Australian Bight following the knock-back of foreign oil giant Equinor’s plan to turn the Bight into an oilfield.

“The fight for the Bight is on. I am standing up for the countless South Australians who don’t want our Bight turned into an oilfield. It is time for all South Australian MPs to act. We need to work together to stand up for our state and stop Big Oil,” Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Equinor’s claims they can drill safely in the Great Australian Bight have gone to water after their ship crashed into their oil rig in Norwegian waters, the Greens say.

“A collision like this in the Great Australian Bight could spell disaster. The waters are rough and remote. The risk is too great, we don’t want an accident like this happening in the Bight,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Bill Shorten’s review of oil spill risk in the Great Australian Bight must result in a commitment to banning drilling in the Bight, The Greens say.

“Concerns over drilling in the Bight are biting. Bill Shorten must commit to acting on this review when it inevitably shows drilling in the Bight is not worth the risk,” Greens environment and water spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Liberals have shown we can’t risk another term of them in Government, by approving a destructive uranium mine on the eve of an election being called, and trying to hide it.

“The Liberals are trashing the environment behind voters’ backs. They have tried to hide this destructive uranium mine decision from voters. They do not deserve another term of government,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Bill Shorten's proposed plan to spend $1.5 billion opening up dirty natural gas drilling in the Galilee and Beetaloo Basins proves that the Labor Party just isn't serious about tackling dangerous climate change and the Greens will use our power in the Senate to block any such move, Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale and Greens Sen. Larissa Waters said.

"We are in the middle of a climate emergency and we can't be opening up any more coal, oil or gas fields if we are going to hand over a sustainable environment to our children and grandchildren," Di Natale said.

More than 24,000 full-time jobs a year would be created in Western Australia under the Greens plan to rapidly transform Australia’s energy system to renewables by 2030.

Greens Leader, Senator Richard Di Natale said:

"Coal is the world’s biggest cause of climate change and Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of coal with 80 per cent of what we dig up being sent overseas to be burned. Unless we phase out coal, we can’t deal with climate change.

The Greens will move to protect Australia’s precious groundwater by extending the ‘water trigger’ to all types of unconventional gas mining as part of the their plan to ban fracking across Australia, mining and resources spokesperson Larissa Waters will announce today.

The Minister for Mining and Resources Matt Canavan has been exposed for lying about any oil from the Great Australian Bight staying in Australia.

“While Matt Canavan has told the public Equinor would keep oil in Australia, the company has denied it. Equinor’s polite rebuke of the Minister’s comments on ABC this morning expose the flimsy spin from the Morrison Government,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Equinor is moving full steam ahead to drill in the Bight and The Greens are fighting to stop them.

“We cannot let this project go ahead. Equinor wants approval within months. The Greens are standing with South Australians to fight this all the way,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The New South Wales Land and Environment Court's landmark decision to reject the Rocky Hill coalmine is a huge win for the community and the environment. The fact that climate change was a key reason cited for this refusal gives me hope for the future.